Chapter 89: Why Him?
After returning to the dormitory, Jiang Ruolin looked at her still-flushed face in the mirror and sighed to herself: What happened to me today? Am I still the same person?!
At the same time, looking at the ruby necklace from Liu Shang resting against her fair neck, Jiang Ruolin absolutely adored it.
She had a vague feeling that she would wear this necklace forever.
As she kept turning, admiring her new favorite necklace with a smile, she caught the attention of her roommates, Dong Hong and Yang Dandan.
"Wow, Ruolin, that necklace you're wearing is so pretty!"
"Yes, it's really beautiful!"
"Where did you buy it? I love it!"
"I want to get one just like it, or at least something similar!"
"Well now, it's Christmas, and you were out on a date all day!"
"Let me guess, that necklace is a Christmas gift from your boyfriend, right?"
Under their questioning, Jiang Ruolin nodded, her face flushing slightly, and then took out the necklace's packaging.
"Yes, Liu Shang gave it to me."
"It's from Lao Fengxiang. You should be able to buy one there; you can go have a look."
After Jiang Ruolin handed them the jewelry box, Dong Hong and Yang Dandan's eyes lit up instantly.
"Really? That's great!"
"I had no idea Lao Fengxiang's silver necklaces were so beautiful now!"
Before they could finish, Song Sha, from her bed on the other side of the room, sighed softly and spoke in a slow, mocking tone:
"That's Lao Fengxiang's latest Christmas design this year. It's a genuine Burmese ruby and platinum necklace. Of course it looks good."
"And let me give you some friendly advice. There are only three of those necklaces in the entire province, and only one here in Fengcheng."
"And due to the scarcity of Burmese rubies, there are no more available."
"Besides, even if there were, there would be no point in looking."
"The discounted price for that necklace is 29,888 yuan, far more than any ordinary student can afford."
"As for Ruolin's gift, I'm afraid Liu Shang must have spent two or three years' worth of his living expenses on it."
After hearing Song Sha's words, Jiang Ruolin and her other two roommates were stunned into silence.
Although Jiang Ruolin had already seen that this necklace was definitely not made of silver, she never imagined it would be this expensive.
As for Dong Hong and Yang Dandan, they were even more shocked. They looked first at Jiang Ruolin, and then back at Song Sha.
Facing their stares, Song Sha just shrugged.
"And don't ask how I know all this in such detail."
"A good friend of mine actually spotted this necklace a long time ago. On the morning it went on sale, she dragged me to the Lao Fengxiang main store to buy it."
"However, before we even got inside, the only one they had was already sold."
"You have no idea, my friend was practically dying of frustration and disappointment."
"But I never expected this world to be so small. To think the person who bought it right before we got there was Liu Shang!"
***
Unsurprisingly, Song Sha immediately relayed the news to Song Jia.
After hearing it, Song Jia was absolutely furious.
She was out partying with Tan Feng, Zhou Liang, Lu Kai, and other close friends, but she completely lost interest, left early, and went home.
Why! Why did the person who bought that necklace have to be Liu Shang!
That despicable guy used money from *my* company to snatch the only necklace of its kind in Fengcheng—*my* favorite necklace!
And now, that beloved necklace was being worn around the neck of that girl who was always one step ahead of her, always a little more dazzling!
And the cause of all this was that hateful Liu Shang!
Afterward, when Song Sha asked if she wanted her to get a photo of it, Song Jia replied decisively: "Never!"
***
Later that night, after the dorm lights went out and everyone was in bed, Jiang Ruolin's mind was in turmoil, unable to calm down.
Being intelligent, she easily connected the dots: the high price of the necklace, the fact that Liu Shang had been skipping classes for months, and how he was sometimes so busy he wouldn't even come back at night, disappearing for a week at a time.
Jiang Ruolin could still clearly remember the deep exhaustion she had often glimpsed in his eyes over the past few months.
So that was it. He had left the warmth and comfort of university life, even as a freshman, and worked himself to the bone just to give her this necklace—the only one in all of Fengcheng, the one she loved so much!
And then he'd clumsily put it in a cheap silver jewelry box to hide its true value from her, not wanting her to worry about him!
At that moment, she didn't know whether to be angry at her foolish boyfriend for being so extravagant out of love, or to be deeply moved by his gesture.
***
Christmas came and went, and soon it was New Year's Day.
At Huahai Company, an awards ceremony for the year's outstanding employees was held.
Unsurprisingly, Liu Shang won the title of top-performing employee, which came with the most lucrative bonus of 10,000 yuan.
At the same time, the company also gave him two Apple laptops, a model not yet officially sold in China.
Back in the dormitory, his three roommates exclaimed when they saw Liu Shang's new laptops.
Even Cheng Meng, who came from the wealthiest family, couldn't help but look shocked and envious.
However, what impressed them most was the USB-sized device the company gave him, which used a phone card to connect to the internet.
Although the signal was very slow and the data plan was expensive, its advantages were that it was portable and free to use, and it was considered quite advanced for the time.
On New Year's Day, as expected, Jiang Ruolin returned home to spend the holiday with her parents.
And Liu Shang, Zheng Shiwei, and Fu Liang were invited to Cheng Meng's house to celebrate together.
Cheng Meng's parents were very gentle people and were very kind to them, preparing a table of delicious food.
However, their relaxation was limited to New Year's Day.
The end of the holiday meant that the final exams for their first semester were approaching.
It wasn't just them; their entire major, and even students from several other majors in the School of Chemistry, were on high alert and extremely nervous.
And it was all thanks to Liu Shang. The professors for their year's classes had gone crazy. They refused to hint at the exam topics and had even increased the difficulty by several levels.
Nowadays, the entire library and all the study halls were completely dominated by students from the School of "Chemistry."
The frantic hard work and studious spirit of this large group of students made the rest of Youda University look on with admiration, earning their praise.
After surviving the hellish college entrance exams, to still have such enthusiasm for studying was truly admirable.
In fact, outsiders had no idea how miserable the freshmen of the School of Chemistry actually felt!
They had already cried all their tears. The poor souls didn't even have the energy left to complain!
They say an incompetent general brings ruin to his entire army.
And that Liu Shang had single-handedly ruined their freshman year!
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